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A Plus X #16

by Tori B. on January 09, 2014

Reading A Plus X definitely used to be a fun, mindless, read; lately they’ve been packing it with goodies for longer term Marvel fans, and an ongoing story which despite it’s little publicity, might turn into quite the opener into the next phase of Marvel NOW!

At this point, the reason that any reader is continuously picking up A Plus X, is for the continuing story that is now on its fourth chapter. A team up between Captain America and Cyclops has carried on and also brings into it the addition of another Avenger, Hank Pym, as well as X-Man Emma Frost and the Stepford Triplets, into the fold. Of all the team ups, this one has the most animosity between the starring heroes and yet there’s an underlying hope that by the end of it, we’ll be stepping into the new phase of Marvel NOW! with a little less bad blood, and maybe some slight respect for one another again.

It was a patchy start for the both of them at the beginning and now that they’ve almost come to a conclusion to their original problem, they’re certainly not on as displeased with working with one another, Cap hasn’t made a threat to arrest Cyke in this issue which is a definite sign of improvement.

Also by the end of their mini story, which isn’t completely over yet, as close as it seems to be (there’s still two more parts!), we’re still in for the finale against Doom which will either seal the deal that our boys have grown up past their little feud, or something disastrous will happen to ruin what little growth they’ve created. Although considering how mature both Scott and Steve handle the skrulls and their struggles in America, it’s easy to remain fairly optimistic.

Duggan has been on a streak lately for some pretty powerful stories, even on a title with little significance, there’s still a lot that could be of consequence.

But there’s another story to this issue as well! The story is of extremely little consequence and to be honest, there’s not a lot of anything that happens but it holds a nostalgic value if anything. Ryan takes us back a few years prior to the Superior Spider-Man and Charles Xavier’s death, and has Peter Parker, Spider-Man himself stumbling upon a sprightly Psylocke and giving her a helping hand against a handful of ninjas. But there’s less of story than most of the light stories we normally get from A Plus X. It feels like several pages of just Spider-Man holding Psylocke until the X-Men arrive to take care of her. The only good thing about the so-called story is seeing Peter back as well as the slew of the good ol’ X-Men costumes (I almost miss the bodysuits and pouches).

Aside from the nostalgia factor, the first story has nothing to contribute to the usual good feelings that A Plus X usually offer, but it’s all about that second story right now.